While he specifically says that, have students explain his behavior according to how he feels about himself. Zero does not feel he has value and or fits in the beginning. Since the numbers are personified, we can treat Zero as a character. With older students, this book would also lend itself to discussing place value (tens and ones).Ĭharacterization, Making Connections, and Writing Many times younger students (sometimes even older students!) have a hard time seeing the “value” in zero. This is a great picture book that explains how zero has a value and is a number. There are many literacy and math lessons that can be taught with this book.īefore I begin, let’s be reminded that I am not a math specialist, but you can’t help but teach math with this book. This is a great book for primary classrooms. Finally, he triumphs as he realizes he can create new numbers, by joining forces with the others.

My teacher brain was going non-stop! There’s a strong theme or moral to the story, great characters, math content, rhyming, alliteration, multiple meaning words, etc.! Essentially, Zero is a number that feels different and doesn’t “count.” Despite multiple attempts to blend or be like the others and to find value, he repeatedly fails. I can definitely see how kids would love the book with its enjoyable story line, color coordinated numbers, and sentences arranged all over the page in a large font.

I finally saw it at the local library and had to check it out – literally! Mostly because it’s a math book and my concentration has always been ELA/R and Social Studies. As budding young readers learn about numbers and counting, they are also introduced to accepting different body types, developing social skills and character, and learning what it means to find value in yourself and in others.It’s one of those picture books that kept coming up on blogs and in stores, but I never picked it up. So she pushes and pulls, stretches and straightens, forces and flattens herself, but in the end she realizes that she can only be Zero. “If I were like One, then Ican count too,” she thinks. Zero is big and round with no corners at all.

One has bold strokes and squared corners. She watches One having fun with the other numbers. But how could a number worth nothing become something? Zero feels empty inside. Every day she watches the other numbers line up to count: “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. When she looks at herself, she just sees a hole right in her center. Follow up to the award winning book, “ONE”, a number called ZERO wonders, “How does a number worth nothing become something?” The story of ZERO’s search to find value in herself and in othersTopics covering: - Body Issues & amp appearance - Finding value in yourself and developing character - Working with others/Teamwork/Developing social skills - Counting/Math - CourageZero is a big round number.

Zero by kathryn otoshi